What makes young people volunteer?

Many believe that volunteer work can benefit young people's personal development. When teenagers volunteer, it's thought they typically become more sensitive to the needs of others, build selfesteem and self-confidence, develop leadership skills as they enjoy personal satisfaction.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the nation's largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service, recently took a look at its top honorees over the past 10 years and found some answers to what motivates youth to volunteer.

•Exposure to a need. Firsthand experience in seeing others who are poor, sick or homeless.

•Parental example. Seeing a mother or father volunteering is important motivation.

•Organizational activities. Fulfilling a community service requirement for a school, church or Scout troop.

•A personal crisis, such as an illness, or the death or injury of a friend or family member.

When that same analysis looked for the factors that successful youth volunteers seem to have in common, it identified several things.

Those who choose activities in in fields they were interested in; those who recruited friends and family to help; those who sought advice and guidance from experts and those who promoted their projects through public speaking, news media and the Internet tended to succeed in their tasks.

For a free copy of "Catch the Spirit: A Student's Guide to Community Service," write to Federal Citizen Information Center, Catch the Spirit, Pueblo, CO 81009, call (888) 8-PUEBLO (878-3256) or visit www.pueblo.gsa.gov. Or, visit www.prudential.com/spirit.

This story is provided by North America Precis Syndicate Inc.